Manchester Cenotaph​ is a war memorial in ​St Peter's Square​, ​Manchester​, England.

Manchester was late in commissioning a ​First World War memorial​ compared with most British
towns and cities; the city council did not convene a war memorial committee until 1922. The
committee quickly raised £10,000 but finding a suitable location for the monument proved
controversial. The preferred site in ​Albert Square​ required the removal and relocation of several
statues, and was opposed by the city's artistic community. The next choice was ​Piccadilly Gardens​,
an area ripe for development, but in the interests of expediency, the council chose St Peter's
Square, although it already contained a stone cross commemorating the former St Peter's Church.
Negotiations to move the cross were unsuccessful and the cenotaph was built with the cross in situ.
The choice of architect was initially to be decided by open competition, but the committee was
criticised in the local press when it reserved the right to overrule the result. It abandoned the
competition and approached ​Sir Edwin Lutyens​, who produced a variation of his design for
Cenotaph​ in London. The memorial consists of a central ​cenotaph​ and a ​Stone of Remembrance
flanked by twin ​obelisks​, all features characteristic of Lutyens' works. The cenotaph is topped by an
effigy of a fallen soldier and decorated with relief carvings of the imperial crown, Manchester's coat
of arms and inscriptions commemorating the dead. The structures, based on ​classical architecture​,
use abstract, ecumenical shapes rather than overt religious symbolism.
The memorial was unveiled on 12 July 1924 by ​the Earl of Derby​, assisted by Mrs Bingle, a local
resident whose three sons had died in the war. It cost £6,940 and the remaining funds were used to
provide hospital beds.
 The Cenotaph on its present site

In 2014, Manchester City Council dismantled the memorial and reconstructed it at the northwest
corner of St Peter's Square next to ​Manchester Town Hall​ to make room for the expanded ​Metrolink
tram network. It is a grade II* ​listed structure​ and in 2015, ​Historic England​ recognised Manchester
Cenotaph as part of a national collection of Lutyens' war memorials.

Background​[​edit​]
In the aftermath of the ​First World War​ and its unprecedented casualties, thousands of war
memorials were built across Britain. Virtually every town or city erected some form of memorial to
commemorate their dead. During the war, only London provided more recruits to the British Army
than Manchester. The ​Manchester Regiment​ and the ​Lancashire Fusiliers​, which largely recruited
from the city and towns to the north, were swollen by ​pals battalions​ drawn from local employers,
social groups, and neighbourhoods.​[1]​ By the end of the war, over 13,000 men of the Manchester
Regiment, including more than 4,000 from the pals battalions and 13,600 Lancashire Fusiliers, had
been killed. An estimated 22,000 Mancunians died and 55,000 were wounded.​[2]

Commissioning​[​edit​]
Many towns and cities began to erect war memorials after ​the armistice​, but Manchester did not get
underway until 1922. As a result of pressure from the local branch of the ​Royal British Legion​, the
city council formed a war memorial committee, chaired by the mayor, to explore options for
commemoration.​[3]​The committee raised £10,000 in subscriptions and donors were told that local
firms would benefit from the construction and resulting employment.​[4]​ Nonetheless, the letters
pages of local newspapers featured several ex-servicemen who felt that the cenotaph was a waste
of money and that the funds would be better spent on the survivors and war widows, many of whom
faced extreme hardship as a result of high levels of unemployment in the aftermath of the war.​[5]

Three potential sites were considered for the memorial: ​Albert Square​, ​Piccadilly Gardens​ and ​St
Peter's Square​. With the support of the Royal British Legion, Albert Square emerged as the
favourite. The site proved controversial after the artistic community led the objections to the removal
and relocation of statues in the square, which would have been required to create a suitable space
for the war memorial. ​King George V​ consented to the relocation of the ​memorial to his German
grandfather​, ​Prince Albert​, but objections persisted and the city architect estimated the cost of
relocating the statues at £8,400. The city council voted to reject Albert Square and identified
Piccadilly Gardens as its second choice. The city council was considering building an art gallery on
the open space left after the old infirmary was demolished. Siting the memorial in front of it was
supported by the Art Gallery Committee.​[4]​ As nothing was decided, any plans for the area would
have delayed the war memorial project further and the council settled on St Peter's Square.​[6]​[7]​[8]
Lutyens' ​Whitehall​ cenotaph in London

More controversy surrounded the choice of architect. The Manchester Art Federation and other
bodies petitioned the city council to hold an open competition, to which the council agreed. The war
memorial committee appointed ​Percy Worthington​, a local architect, as the assessor for the
competition but attracted severe criticism in the local press when it reserved the right to veto
Worthington's choice. After further debate, the competition was abandoned and a subcommittee
approached ​Sir Edwin Lutyens​.[9]
​

Architect​[​edit​]
Lutyens, described by ​Historic England​ as "the leading English architect of his generation", was
amongst the most prominent designers of war memorials in Britain.​[10]​ Before the war, he had
established his reputation designing ​country houses​ for wealthy patrons but the war had a profound
effect on him and from 1917 onwards he dedicated much of his time to memorialising the casualties.
The ​Stone of Remembrance​ that he designed in 1917 appears in all large ​Imperial War Graves
Commission​ (IWGC) cemeteries and in several of his civic memorials, including Manchester's.​[10]
His ​cenotaph​ on Whitehall in London became the focus for national ​Remembrance Sunday
commemorations and one of the most influential designs for war memorials in Britain. Manchester's
cenotaph, a close replica, is one of seven in England based on it.​[10]​[11]
Lutyens designed the ​Thiepval Memorial to the Missing​ of the ​Somme​, the largest British war
memorial in the world, for the IWGC in 1928.​[12]​ Around the same time he designed his only other
commission in Manchester, the Midland Bank at ​100 King Street​.[13]
​

Design​[​edit​]

The cenotaph in its original "cluttered" location; in the foreground is the cross marking the site of the former
St Peter's Church and in the background the ​Midland Hotel

Manchester's war memorial is a ​cenotaph​, flanked by twin ​obelisks​, and a Stone of Remembrance,
all in ​Portland stone​ on a raised coved platform.​[10]​[14]​The memorial covers an area of approximately
93 feet (28 metres) by 53 feet (16 metres).​[7]​ The cenotaph is 42 feet (13 metres) high made from
160 long tons (160,000 kilograms) of Portland stone. The ​pylon​ is surmounted by a sculpture of an
unknown soldier, partially covered by his ​greatcoat​, lying on a ​catafalque​. The pylon rises from the
base in diminishing stages, narrowing as it rises. Below the catafalque, on the front and rear, are
moulded swords and imperial crowns, and to the sides are Manchester's ​coat of arms​ surrounded by
laurel wreaths​. The cenotaph bears inscriptions below the coat of arms: "​TO THE HONOURED
MEMORY OF THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY​" (on the north-west side) and "​O
LORD GOD OF OUR FATHERS KEEP THIS/FOREVER IN THE IMAGINATION OF THE THOUGHTS OF THE
[7]​[10]​[15]​[16]​
HEART OF THY PEOPLE​" (on the south east).​ Identical, 23-foot (7-metre) high obelisks
[17]​[18]​
stand either side of the cenotaph​ and the Stone of Remembrance is set in front. The stone, a
monolith​ in the shape of an altar, is 12 feet (3.7 metres) long and ​subtly, aesthetically curved​; it is
devoid of decoration and inscribed, "​THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE​".​[19]​[20]

Lutyens' design, with flanking objects, recumbent figure and a Stone of Remembrance set in front of
the cenotaph, is reminiscent of his ​earlier cenotaph in Southampton​. While many First World War
memorials feature sculpture or overt religious symbolism, Manchester's, like many of his memorials,
uses abstract and ecumenical shapes inspired by ​classical architecture​. Its effigy of the unknown
soldier raised high on the pylon rather than at eye level is reminiscent of ancient tower tombs. The
sculpture's position high above eye level gives the soldier anonymity, complementing the abstract
shapes of the structures and allowing an onlooker to project an image of their own choosing onto
it,​[21]​[22]​[23]​[24]​ and distances the viewer from the fact of the death and focuses on an idealised sense
of self-sacrifice.​[25]

The ​Pevsner City Guide​ to Manchester described the cenotaph as one of the few impressive war
memorials in Manchester but lamented its original cluttered setting and its proximity to overhead
wires.​[16]​ The cenotaph, obelisks, and stone are features typical of Lutyens' war memorial work,
although Manchester's is one of only two with flanking obelisks—​Northampton's​ has a similar pair of
obelisks flanking a Stone of Remembrance.​[7]​[17]​[26]​[27]

● Views showing the constituent parts of the memorial

●
Right obelisk
●

Cenotaph
 ●

Stone of Remembrance
●

Left obelisk

History​[​edit​]
 Temple Moore's memorial cross to the former St Peter's Church, which occupied the site intended for the
war memorial

St Peter's Square already housed a memorial cross by ​Temple Moore​ marking the location of the
former St Peter's Church, which was demolished in 1907. The church trustees and the ​Bishop of
Manchester​ had consented to relocating the cross to accommodate the war memorial, but the
trustees reversed their decision by the time building work commenced. Lutyens agreed for the work
to continue with the cross in situ.​[6]​[16]​[28]​ Negotiations about relocating it recommenced after the
unveiling ceremony but the trustees remained reluctant and after further discussion Lutyens said he
did not object to it remaining.​[4]​According to Tim Skelton, author of ​Lutyens and the Great War
(2008), "the heated discussions resulted in a compromise that clearly show[ed]" as Moore's cross
"severely impinged on the setting of the memorial and appear[ed] to be an integral part of it".​[28]

Despite the war memorial committee's promise that local labour would be used, the monument was
built by ​Nine Elms Stone Masonry Works​ of London, resulting in a sense of betrayal in the local
community.​[5]​ Having cost of £6,940, it was unveiled on 12 July 1924 by ​Edward Stanley, 17th Earl
of Derby​. Derby's family had been involved in politics for generations, and he had held various public
offices during the war including ​Secretary of State for War​. He was assisted by Mrs Bingle, a local
woman from Rylance Street, ​Ancoats​, who lost three sons in the war. Two years earlier, Lord Derby
had unveiled Lutyens' ​Rochdale Cenotaph​, 10 miles (16 km) away.​[3]​[10]​[29]​[30]​ Mrs Bingle
represented "the mothers and wives of Manchester who had made sacrifices greater than life itself".
She wore the eight medals awarded to her sons: Sergeant Ernest Bingle aged 34 and Gunner
Charles Bingle aged 27 of the ​Royal Garrison Artillery​, and Corporal Nelson Bingle aged 21 of the
Royal Engineers​. All were killed in 1918—Nelson in March and Ernest and Charles in May.​[31]

The unveiling ceremony at Manchester took place in front of a large crowd and a ​guard of honour
from the Manchester Regiment and ex-servicemen. The service was led by the ​Dean of Manchester​,
the Very Reverend ​Gough McCormick​, and the Baptist minister Reverend John Edward Roberts of
Union Chapel on Oxford Road. Several dignitaries gave speeches including the lord mayor and Lord
Derby, who remarked that the memorial was not only a tribute to the dead but a warning as to the
cost of war. After the unveiling, a procession of women laid flowers around the base of the
memorial.​[32]​[31]​ The remainder of the £10,000 raised by the war memorial committee was used to
provide hospital beds for ex-servicemen and their families.​[28]​ The controversies that arose during
the memorial's gestation largely disappeared after its unveiling; the ​Manchester City News​ praised
the design for its "simplicity of forms and rhythmic beauty of proportion".​[5]

A marble plaque, added nearby and dedicated to "​OUR ITALIAN COMRADES 1915–1918​", was removed
during the ​Second World War​ but later returned. In 1949, the dates for World War II were added and
the surrounding area was laid out as a garden of remembrance designed by the city architect, ​L. C.
Howitt​.[16]​
​ Another plaque was added later to commemorate the ​Korean War​.[10]​
​ [29]

The suitability of St Peter's Square re-emerged in 1925 during discussions about the proposed art
gallery and consideration was given to moving the cenotaph to Piccadilly.​[4]​ In March 2011,
Manchester City Council​ began a public consultation on moving the cenotaph to an alternative site in
the square to allow for expansion of the ​Metrolink​ tram network. The plans had a mixed reception.
Some objections were made by the public but there was support from veterans, church, and heritage
groups. The relocation was approved in 2012, and in January 2014 it was dismantled before it was
cleaned and restored. In 2014 it was reconstructed in a new memorial garden on the opposite side
of the square aligned with ​Manchester Town Hall​'s southern entrance. The city council
commissioned conservation architects Stephen Levrant Heritage Architecture to manage the
relocation and design the new setting which places the cenotaph, obelisks and stone on a plinth in
an oval surrounded by a low wall.​[33]​ The garden opened to the public in September 2014. The
cenotaph was damaged in the first week when skateboarders began using the area as a skatepark.
Repair work costing £4,000 started shortly afterwards, and extra security measures (including
24-hour ​CCTV​) were put in place.​[34]​[35]​[36]​[37]

● The cenotaph in the process of being dismantled and moved, 2014

●
●

●
 ●

The cenotaph was designated a grade II ​listed structure​ on 12 February 1985.​[10]​ Listed status
provides legal protection from demolition or modification; grade II is applied to about 92% of listed
buildings of "special interest, warranting every effort to preserve them". It was upgraded in 1994 to
grade II*, which is reserved for "particularly important buildings of more than special interest" and
applies to about 5.5% of listed buildings. In November 2015, as part of commemorations for the
centenary of the First World War, Manchester Cenotaph was recognised as part of the "national
collection" of Lutyens' war memorials.​[38]​[39]